Week 12
1536 words by Jayerv
My project deals with poverty and so far the implementation of my project has been that of making phone calls and waiting. In taking several of my classmate’s suggestions of volunteering at a local food bank, although this is not exactly the direction I wanted my project to head in. Many people that I have been in contact with have not been very receptive to my idea and that is absolutely fine. I will continue to try to expand on my project. I truly feel that if this project was able to be implemented, then who knows what could happen to neighboring communities and even the world. This summer has been really trying, not just for Xavier students, but for New Orleans in general. Xavier and New Orleans are in a building and rebuilding process and this is a very trying and time consuming process. But I will not let my lack of outside help and motivation; stop me in trying to achieve the otherwise unachievable. If I am not able to get my goal fully accomplished this year, I hope that I am able to get my project done in the future, or even serve as a spring board for someone else’s ideas and hopefully I will have either a direct or indirect impact on the world.
Beatitude is Greek derivative of “blessing”. The beatitudes were spoken by Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount. The purpose of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was to deliver the word of God, which was that of generosity and a never ending commitment to God. The eight beatitudes are:
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
2. Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land
3. Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill
5. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
6. Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God
7. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God
8. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Several of the beatitudes relate to my project, but the beatitudes that relate the most are:
- Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven- this relates by the fact that poverty has a tendency to bring down the human spirit. Although this beatitude was meant to imply that one should be humble and be a beggar before God, the poor does not only have to be a beggar before God, but several have to become beggar’s before man. Having to ask your neighbor for a necessity to live, is a humbling and courageous stand to make, but in the end by being able to humble ones self and realize that the situation is happening for a reason will pay off in the future. Eventually all of those that are poor in spirit now will in end up in God’s kingdom and the only person that they will have to be humble to is GOD.
- Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill- this relates by the fact that I am fighting to help end the hunger and thirstiness of the impoverished. I feel that in the end not only will those that I am trying to help be blessed, but I will also be blessed in the long run. My blessings will not have to come in a monetary for, but in the joy and happiness of knowing that I have helped to end one of the most debilitating diseases of the world; poverty. Those that try to make a difference in the world and take steps in trying to end injustices will be blessed and the LORD will give them their fill or their blessing.
A parable is moral or spiritual teaching that correlates with everyday life, experiences and situations. A parable for my performance in Intro to Biblical Studies thus far is as follows: A young lady decides to enroll in a historically black and catholic university and is required to take a theological course. She attends class when necessary and does all of the required work. She begins to stray off of her academic path and gets three weeks behind. She realizes in order to get the grade she wants to must get back on the straight and narrow with her professor, which requires the completion of fifteen, fifteen hundred word blogs each week. So, she catches up and finishes each blog completely for the week that it is due, they may not always be on time but she does them consistently. The moral of this parable is that if you keep trying and never give up, anything is possible, including an A in theology class.
The things that possess the world today that would probably upset Jesus the most is all of the killing and unkindness. It is my personal opinion that Jesus’ main teaching was to be kind and caring to all of those that cross your path regardless to how they treat you. As the old saying goes “kill them with kindness”. In the capitalism and materialism that has begun to encapsulate the Earth, people have become obsessed with material possessions and money and could careless as to how the next man is living or dying. We have become so self- indulgent that we have little to no concern about anything that is happening around us unless we are directly afflicted by the situation. If Jesus was to return to earth and see that many people take His death at the cross for granted, he would probably be infuriated, by the hatred and disobedience of God’s creations. But in the end he will continue to praise us and send his blessings and love with the hopes that the world will eventually get back on its rightful path with God.
Jesus was put on trial because he caused chaos in a local market after overturning a money changer. Jesus’ trial was a premonition into one of his disciples turning their back against him for mere coins. On the Sunday of Jesus’ last week of living, he went to Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. The citizens of Jerusalem hailed his visit. On Monday he went to the Jewish temple and cleaned it. That Tuesday, he was confronted by the leaders and accused of being the prophet that hailed from Nazareth. On Wednesday, Jesus was anointed with expensive perfumes. Thursday, Jesus attended the last supper. At the Last Supper he informed his guest that he will be betrayed by one of his disciples and that his life will soon come to an end. Friday, also referred to as Good Friday, Jesus’ trial was held. He was tried for the incident in the market (the overturning of the tables) and for blasphemy. Jesus was sentenced to death and it was decided that he would die by crucifixion. And finally on Sunday, Jesus resurrected. These events are recorded differently because each Gospel author had their own interpretation of the week’s events and therefore they recorded them in the way they saw fit. Each Gospel authors reasoning’s for interpreting these events differently is to attract different audiences and show different view points to the same situation.
If I was a member of The Essene community at Qumran, I probably came to this community in order to give my whole self over to God and his teachings. In joining this community I want to learn the ways of the LORD and start to live my life by his teachings instead of continuing to walk in the stubbornness of my heart. I want to give my life over to God and realize that it is through Him that all things are possible. I want to distance myself from people that are continuing to self-destruct due to their failure to accept the LORD as their savior. I joined this community in order to fulfill God’s plan for my life and hopefully by fulfilling his destiny, I will be able to enter into his Kingdom.
I believe that Xavier University of Louisiana does have some of the same beliefs that the Manuel of Discipline possess. The main point of the Manuel of Discipline is that one should try to be as faithful to the LORD as possible and try to give ones life and services over to God. Another teaching is that one should not surround themselves with negativity and people that are not willing to realize their self-destructive characteristics. This can also be said for Xavier by the fact that, Xavier’s goal is to produce productive and educated citizens of the world. Xavier enforces a rigorous work load and this is a way of eliminating those that are here for other purposes besides that of learning and helping better the community and eventually the world.